Great American Smoke-Out: NASCAR Inks Nicorette As Sponsor

GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Nicorette has signed a deal with NASCAR
to become the sport’s first quit-smoking product. Nicorette will also be an
associate sponsor of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 41 Target Dodge, driven by Casey
Mears, for the ’05 season. The car will feature a special Nicorette paint scheme
at the March 20 Nextel Cup Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. GSK’s
Goody’s Headache Powder has been a NASCAR sponsor since ’77 (GSK) USA TODAY’s
Bruce Horovitz reports that Nicorette’s NASCAR deal is for three years. The
deals with NASCAR and Ganassi are “believed to exceed $3[M] annually.” Nicorette
“might seem a most unlikely sponsor” given NASCAR’s history of tobacco sponsorship,
including Winston’s former title sponsorship of the sport’s top series. Simmons
Market Research found that NASCAR fans are 28% more likely to smoke than other
adults, and smoke 18% more cigarettes than other adults. They are also “more
likely to smoke” than fans of MLB, the NBA, NFL and NHL. GSK Consumer Healthcare
Senior Manager of Promotional Activities Steve Kapur: “This is a great audience
for us” (USA
TODAY, 1/27).